A man who always made a splash

Away from his activities as a member of Elm Park, Gus Madden was sales manager of the Aer Lingus office in Rome where, it would appear, he was not without influence. Indeed, on the occasions when his friends and golfing acquaintances visited the Eternal City, they came to rely on the bold Gus for that most exclusive of favours - an audience with the Pope.

But it is a visit to Killarney GC that a former colleague, Niall Weldon, has highlighted in a charming, souvenir booklet which has come into my hands. It marks the golden jubilee year of the Aer Lingus Golfing Society, founded in 1948, when, by a happy coincidence, the company's sales manager, James Cumming, happened to be a scratchman.

That was also the year when, among other things, the much-publicised launch of the Aerlinte Eireann transatlantic service to New York and Boston was scuppered by the Government following "an examination of the financial commitments involved". So, the staff looked to golf for a boost in morale.

Weldon was twice captain of the society, in 1961 and 1962, and, as a former honorary secretary with a deep knowledge of the game, was admirably suited to the task of compiling the booklet. As it happened, he witnessed Madden's memorable exploit at Killarney, where they had travelled for the annual match with the Shannon Golfing Society.

It was customary to have a singles competition on the eve of the match, and, on this occasion, in the early 1960s, Weldon was in a three-ball with Madden and another Dublin colleague, Bill Miley. When they came to the famous, short 18th, Weldon recalled: "Gus had a bundle of shots in hand and nothing could prevent him from returning the winning score, or so Bill and I thought."

Madden's first effort, with a three-iron, splashed into the lake. Unruffled, he reloaded, only to hit three more balls into the water. Walden takes up the story: "Bill and I were flabbergasted, but Gus remained unmoved and asked his caddie how many balls were left in the bag. `Five, sir . . . three Blue Flashes and two Warwicks'.

" `Don't mind about their names, Sonny Boy,' said Gus, `just drop them on the tee here beside me.' To our astonishment and the caddie's utter disbelief, he consigned all five balls to the depths of the lake. Then, without further ado, he placed his golf bag over his shoulders, Dick Whittington style, and headed straight for the clubhouse.

"A short time later, we caught up with our partner in the bar. And no, he wasn't drinking. He was entertaining a party of American tourists with a rousing rendition of Do You Remember Me. We remember Gus fondly." And so well they might.

"It was great to come up the last hole with a big crowd cheering. I thought those days had long gone for me." Brian Huggett, after winning the Schroder Senior Masters at Wentworth last Sunday.

It would appear that a damaged hip, which will keep him out of next week's USPGA Championship, is not the only problem bothering Jack Nicklaus. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Bear's performance in business "has included some notable disappointments lately".

Contemporaries such as Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman have lent their names to businesses created by others. But Nicklaus is thought to be the first golfer to actually go public with his name, to the extent that several of his core businesses are in a publicly-held company.

Golden Bear Golf Inc recently sold off its interest in golf practice centres, a separate business for which it once had high hopes. And since the company went public two years ago, its stock has sunk to less than one-third of its flotation price.

This comes a few months after a Nicklaus golf-course construction company lost the contract for a Florida development by Donald Trump, who said of the parting: "We tried to make it as comfortable as possible for Jack." But it's not the first time Nicklaus has had to ride out a financial storm.

According to his autobiography, published last year, he had quite a scare back in 1985. Then, advisers told him that he and his businesses were "so deeply in debt and at risk in real estate and other non-golf0related projects as to face imminent financial disaster". His response? He ditched his business partner and formed a new team.

There's been some scurrilous talk about Christy O'Connor Jnr creating a small industry out of the sale of Ping twoirons. You will recall that this was the club he used to play the famous shot of 229 yards which landed five feet below the 18th hole at The Belfry, in his Ryder Cup match with Fred Couples in 1989.

Widely acknowledged as one of the sport's most spectacular shots, it has also been the source of at least one extraordinary request. Two years ago, a British solicitor contacted O'Connor and asked him to go to The Belfry to pinpoint the position from which it was played.

"I was in the English Open at the Forest of Arden at the time, so I didn't have far to travel," he recalled. It seems that the objective was to comply with the will of a titled Englishman who wanted his ashes scattered at the location of the famous shot. "That was after they had driven a steel stake into the ground where I pointed," added the Galwayman.

Now, the two-iron saga is to be taken a stage further. "I have been told that the owners of The Belfry are planning to lay a plaque at the spot," he said. "It looks like it may happen during the PGA Seniors Championship (at The Belfry on August 28th to 31st). That will be my first senior tournament."

Then, which a typically hearty laugh, O'Connor, who will be 50 on August 19th, concluded: "It would do wonders for the sale of those two-irons."

Tiger Woods may have failed to do so, but Owen O'Connor is expecting to eagle the first hole at the K Club. Why such an ambitious target for a humble 16-handicapper from Royal Dublin? Because a mathematical progression has ordained that it should be so. That's why.

O'Connor's only hole-in-one was at the K Club's short third. Then, in a recent team event, he proceeded to card an eagle two at the par-four second, where he holed his seven-wood approach shot. Which means that if there's any logic in golf - which, of course, there is - a three at the long first is inevitable.

There are 250 caddies at St Andrews, compared with 45 at Pebble Beach - a clear reflection of the impact of golf buggies. But the famous Monterey Peninsula stretch can boast a two-time California state amateur champion among its caddying fraternity.

Casey Boyns will be a member of a 10-man Pebble Beach team for the inaugural match against the St Andrews caddies on the Old Course and the Jubilee Course on October 21st and 22nd, two weeks after the Dunhill Cup. They will be playing for a quaich, which is a silver Scottish dish.

"After plugging along and working every day unnoticed by the golf industry, it's nice to have something of value and meaning, something significant," said Pebble Beach caddie Bob Keena. A companion, Scott Houston, described their job as one of the "most time-honoured walking professions, next to the shepherd and the postman".

It will cost the American caddies $1,000 each to make the trip but they have received $3,000 sponsorship towards their accommodation. Why St Andrews? Because contrary to expectations, they welcomed the match, unlike Pine Valley and Augusta, who turned it down flat.

This day in golf history . . . on August 8th, 1977, Beth Daniel beat Barbara Riedl of Ohio one-up in the first round of the US Women's Amateur at the Cincinnati CC. The 20-yearold from Charleston, South Carolina, also won her next five matches to capture the title for a second time. Two years earlier, she won the US Women's Amateur at her first attempt.

Among the 162 challengers were future LPGA professional colleagues Patty Sheehan and Lori Garbatz. Before departing amateur ranks, however, Sheehan made a major impact on the 1980 Curtis Cup matches at St Pierre, where she beat Mary McKenna 3 and 2 and Maureen Madill 5 and 4 in the top two singles matches.

Teaser: In matchplay, A holes a putt and, thinking he has won the match, shakes hands with B and picks up B's ball. The referee advises B that he had a putt to win the hole and keep the match alive. Has B conceded the match by his acquiescence in A's action of shaking hands and picking up B's ball?

Answer: No. B was entitled to replace his ball and hole out. Since A incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-3b (Ball at rest moved by opponent . . .) B now has two putts to win the hole.